Navigating a medical device through a body passage can be difficult when attempting to maneuver within a selected branching pathway, such as a bifurcated duct or vessel. For example, most wire guides lack the ability to maneuver in a particular direction, especially when the direction is against the natural pathway that the wire guide prefers to take.
An example of an area of the body where this poses a problem is the biliary tree, where wire guides are often introduced prior to procedures such as endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), which is a diagnostic visualization technique commonly used with a sphincterotome. The biliary tree includes bifurcations at the junction of the biliary and pancreatic ducts and the right and left hepatic ducts. The anatomy of the biliary tree can make navigation of the wire guide into the desired branch of the bifurcation difficult.
In view of the difficulties of successfully navigating into and within a branched body passageway, there is a need for a medical device that can reliably gain access to and navigate through a branched body passageway.